Exclusive Interview with Lyricist Nick Brewer

In 2015, Nick Brewer charted his debut single “Talk To Me” featuring singer-songwriter Bibi Bourelly in the UK Top 20, received a MOBO nomination and headlined sold-out shows through the UK. This year is looking good for Nick as “Never Say Never” featuring Sinead Harnett, from his new album Recreation, is also set to take the charts by storm.

Your genre of music is Hip hop and Grime. Can you explain to our readers what Grime is?

Grime is a genre of music that emerged in London in the early 2000’s. It’s developed from UK garage. It has influences from US Hip hop and dancehall too.

What drew you to going into Hip Hop and Grime?

It was all around me when I was growing up. Everyone wanted to be a rapper. Seeing all these new Grime artists was very inspiring, and it became something I wanted to pursue.

What can fans expect from your new album Recreation?

It’s me taking the opportunity to tell my story. In terms of the music and everything that has inspired me. It’s about the events I’ve experienced in life.

How do you feel Essex, UK, has influenced your music?

I grew up in East London and moved to Essex when I was about 15. Growing up we’d play football (US soccer) and we’d rap. It was a huge part of our social life.

Do you do anything special when you sit down to write music?

I don’t’ think so. (laughs). My best way of writing music is going to the studio and seeing where we end up. That’s how my best lyrics come out I think.

You collaborated on your new song “Talk To Me” with Bibi Bourelly. How did this come about?

We were introduced to each other by a mutual friend. She is originally from Berlin but moved to Washington DC. We were introduced when she was in London. We just clicked and that’s how the song came about.

What was it about “Gypsy Woman” by Crystal Waters that made you want to sample it on “Talk To Me”?

It’s one of my favorite songs. It’s such a good song. We were just messing around in the studio having fun. We just sampled it with no expectations. We thought it just sounded cool. It just kept growing from there. I had a brief chat with Crystal Waters. She said that she really liked it. It felt good to get that note of approval.

What would you like for your fans to take away from your music?

Just be themselves. Be who they’re meant to be. .There are many messages out there trying to make people be who they’re not. I think for me as soon as I accepted myself and became okay with myself life got more joyful. If people could take that away that would be cool.

You were a youth worker in the UK. Do you feel working with the kids influenced what you wanted to say with your music?

Yeah, definitely in relation to the last question. I met so many young people with so many talents and ambitions, but a lot of them were being inhibited because of what their friends thought and held back by that. They wanted to get their friend’s approval. So I definitely write a lot to try to inspire them.

How did it feel to be nominated for the MOBO for Best Newcomer?

That was so cool. The MOBOs is something I’ve grown up watching. Getting nominated made me feel – I don’t want to say validated – like I was going in the right direction. I was obviously disappointed not to win, but the people I was up against were the artists I look up to. So it was a good encouragement to keep going.

We at TNWU all have something nerdy/geeky about us. What is something nerdy or geeky about you?

(laughs). Where do I start. I used to be in the chess club at school. I used to wear glasses that wrapped around my ears because I would try to take them off. I used to have a wormery when I was young. I had pet worms. That’s pretty nerdy!